The Umbrella Academy Ends Strong With Season 4: Review

The post The Umbrella Academy Ends Strong With Season 4: Review appeared first on Consequence .

There’s something just a little familiar about the way Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy ends with Season 4. Which feels apt, since the off-kilter superhero drama, based on the comics by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, has itself always felt close to other properties about super-powered individuals. Yet that lingering sense of deja vu doesn’t stop the six final episodes from being a fast-paced, often fun ride.

The fourth season honestly benefits from the shorter episode count, as it allows for just enough in the way of classic Umbrella Academy hijinks while also getting to the core of the story concisely. Things kick off by tackling the biggest twist from the Season 3 finale: After every Hargreeves, including Ben (Justin H. Min), survived that season’s looming doomsday scenario, they all lost their powers. The Season 4 premiere is thus focused largely on how they’ve adapted to their new lives… until, that is, another universe-shaking threat comes into play.

Before the end, we get some answers to long-lingering questions, a new take on the multiverse, multiple star-crossed love stories, and (of course) some off-kilter needle drops to accompany big action scenes. There are a few set pieces that are pretty remarkable in scale (though perhaps a bit lacking in VFX budget), though the demented nature of the violence doesn’t quite compare to other shows in the genre. (Say what you will about The Boys , but that show has yet to stop topping itself in this area.)

Joining for Season 4 in a significant role is David Cross as Sy Grossman, a mysterious presence who always brings an unique energy to the screen, especially when he’s operating outside the realm of comedy; at times, he can be downright unsettling in the best way, which this show uses well.

Though Cross does get a bit outshone by the ever-delightful Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally as new villains Drs. Gene and Jean Thibedeau: Off-screen, Offerman and Mullally seem to be one of Hollywood’s most happily married couples (fun fact: when I interviewed Offerman last spring about his work in Alex Garland’s Civil War , his Zoom display name was “Mr. Megan Mullally”). And as a nefarious duo that’s also deeply in love, the pair are equally committed, delivering a delicious sort of weirdness that’s just a little bit scary when it needs to be. (Gene and Jean should not be “relationship goals.” And yet!)

The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)

As for the core cast, one thing that the cast and writers continue to do well is deliver familial vibes: Although they’ve been working together for less than a decade, Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, and Justin H. Min bring the weight of a lifetime’s familiarity to their interactions. (One continuing nice touch: Page’s real-life transition, which took place prior to Season 3 and was then written into the narrative , remains a standout example of acceptance, especially within the family unit.) Despite the Hargreeves’ differences, at this point there’s no doubt as to the depth of those sibling bonds, and the show knows quite well that that’s where its heartbeat lives.

A good portion of the new episodes split the Hargreeves up, but when the whole ensemble is riding together inside a cursed minivan… that’s where the good stuff can be found. And that’s important, because while The Umbrella Academy deserves real credit for at least a few truly original ideas (Luthor’s cursed ape-man body, for one), watching the series often leads to the sense that there might in fact be a finite limit to how many different kinds of stories you can really tell within this genre. But its characters, and the wild and wonderful places they’ve been able to go, are what set it apart the most — which can sometimes get flattened out in moments of melee, or when individuals get silo’ed off into their own side stories.

Without spoilers (of course), The Umbrella Academy wraps up the story on a bittersweet but definitive note, with some touches that hardcore fans will appreciate. Yet that ending will feel at least a little bit familiar to genre fans — an inevitable consequence of the sheer proliferation of comic book-based or inspired film and TV projects, which means that there have been a lot of these stories over the past few decades.

In 2020, Consequence senior writer Clint Worthington praised Max’s Doom Patrol as a great example of the “misfit superhero” series , while name-checking other series like The Boys and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow . Within the MCU, we also have the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Defenders, the Eternals, and even the Avengers themselves, all doing their best to save the universe as found families.

The Umbrella Academy ending now could be considered yet more evidence of the ongoing contraction superhero-related content is currently experiencing. It’s ending strong, though, with enough commitment to its characters to make its most memorable moments shine. There have been a lot of movies and shows made about superheroes. But not a lot of them let them dance .

The Umbrella Academy Season 4 is streaming now on Netflix. Check out the latest trailer below.

The Umbrella Academy Ends Strong With Season 4: Review
Liz Shannon Miller